Selling and Buying a Home
Real-life advice for buying and selling a home
Welcome to the Selling and Buying a Home blog.
My name is Leah Ingram, and, together with my husband, I’ve bought and sold eight homes in the past 20 years. One of those homes we built new.
My husband and I are also the DIY type. We’ve renovated nearly every home we’ve owned. This includes upgrading bathrooms, redoing a kitchen down to the studs and painting a home, top to bottom.
In addition to my personal experience as a homeowner, I’m a writer that has covered real estate for national publications.
For more than a decade I wrote about celebrity real estate, home-buying trends, money-saving tips for moving, curb appeal and more for NBC Universal and Parade Magazine.
Now I’m bringing my aspirational but authoritative and approachable take on selling and buying a home to my own blog. I’m going to share with you what works (and what doesn’t ) when selling a home as well as when you’re buying a home.
Rather than telling you what you want to hear, I’m going to tell you what you need to hear if you want to get a good price on a home you’re selling or buying. Basically, I’m going to cut through the BS and give you real-life, attainable advice that’s applicable to both buyers and sellers.
Finally, I’m also sharing advice on home decorating, maintenance and other topics related to home ownership. This includes how to fit an area rug under a bed or why you might want to paint an accent wall in your home.
However, this is hardly my only blog. I’ve been covering personal finance for nearly as long as I’ve been selling and buying homes. Once we were suddenly frugal. These days we’re real sophisticated consumers.
You’re welcome to read my other blog The Real Sophisticated Consumer here.
Do You Need a New Mattress
How do you know it’s time to buy a new mattress? There are a couple of things to think about. One, how do you feel when you wake up? Two, what does your mattress look like when you observe its surface? And finally, how long…
Colors to Paint Your Home To Sell It Fast
When you’re selling your home, you want it to sell fast and for the most money possible. That’s why it makes sense to be smart about staging your home, do whatever you can to improve your curb appeal, and, find colors to paint your home…
Bathroom Plants that Absorb Moisture
Did you know there are plants that absorb moisture? People usually put them in bathrooms to help keep the humidity down. It’s something I’m considering for my home. You see, moisture is a problem in our upstairs bathroom. It shouldn’t be, because there is a…
Refinishing a Fireplace
When Bill and I started our home renovation, we knew that one of the projects we wanted to do was refinishing the fireplace in the dining room. It was painted white with a sky-blue mantle. Bill hates painted brick. I don’t have a problem with…
Christmas Town Names
Did you see the USPS commercial this past holiday season that highlighted Christmas town names across America? Those aren’t made up places. There really are cities and states across the nation named for something related to Christmas. Some even have the word Christmas in their…
Interior Design Trends for 2023
When it comes to interior design trends for 2023, many are focusing on the two areas of the home where we spend the most time. One, the living room. And, two, the kitchen. More people than ever are continuing to work from home. Therefore, we…
Samplize Paint Samples
I’ve mentioned using Samplize paint samples in a couple of my articles. This includes colors to paint your home before selling as well as what is greige color. Fun fact: we painted our house greige before selling it, thus the inspiration for those two articles….
Residential Property: Types of Homes
There are many types of homes to consider when buying a place to live. It all depends on your budget, where you live, what kind of housing stock is available and, frankly, what the real estate market looks like when you start searching for a…
Lawn and Grass Care 101
You might think you know everything you need to know about lawn and grass care. However, I’m betting that some of the advice I’ll offer in this article will be new to you. And why am I writing this article about grass right now? Because…
Who am I?
I’m Leah Ingram, homeowner seven times over, author of 15 books and journalist, formerly covering real estate for NBC Universal and Parade Magazine.